Medicine and Healthcare Internship in Sri Lanka with Projects Abroad

I just completed the 4-week high school medicine special in Panadura, Sri Lanka. I got the chance to work at three different hospitals, attend multiple medical seminars, and get immersed in Sri...
Elisa Moore

Program Summary

Interning on a Medicine & Healthcare internship in Sri Lanka is an eye-opening experience. As a Medicine & Healthcare intern you will gain access to a great deal of observational experience in a variety of departments. The facilities are generally of a basic standard.

We have Medical & Healthcare internships based in the coastal towns of Panadura and Kalutara (about 45km south of Colombo) and also in Galle (115km south of Colombo). Interns normally work in a variety of departments on a two week rotation system; the most common departments are our interns observe are General Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternity, ENT and Pediatrics. It is also possible to spend a few days interning in Neurology, the mortuary, Rheumatology and the chest clinic. If you let us know your particular interests, we can usually arrange for you to intern within your preferred areas.

Many interns do receive the chance to get much more involved in the procedures than would be possible in your local hospital at home. For ...

Program Summary

Interning on a Medicine & Healthcare internship in Sri Lanka is an eye-opening experience. As a Medicine & Healthcare intern you will gain access to a great deal of observational experience in a variety of departments. The facilities are generally of a basic standard.

We have Medical & Healthcare internships based in the coastal towns of Panadura and Kalutara (about 45km south of Colombo) and also in Galle (115km south of Colombo). Interns normally work in a variety of departments on a two week rotation system; the most common departments are our interns observe are General Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternity, ENT and Pediatrics. It is also possible to spend a few days interning in Neurology, the mortuary, Rheumatology and the chest clinic. If you let us know your particular interests, we can usually arrange for you to intern within your preferred areas.

Many interns do receive the chance to get much more involved in the procedures than would be possible in your local hospital at home. For example, one high school intern helped deliver five babies on just one day! This all varies based on the doctor, length of stay, and relationship with the hospital staff so please come prepared to only observe.

There are also opportunities to spend time in some specialized clinics, which usually include traditional Ayurvedic medicine. This will give you a well-rounded understanding of medicine and healthcare in Sri Lanka.

If you wish to intern in Sri Lanka as a qualified Physical Therapist, Nurse or Midwife the hospitals and clinics we work with are very willing to receive you. If you are currently training, or even just considering one of these areas as a future career, you can still have a role to play: shadowing professionals who will be able to teach you all about the field they work in.

Program Highlights

You can do an Elective in Sri Lanka in Medicine, Physical Therapy, Nursing and Midwifery

If you are currently enrolled in medical school and wish to do your elective in Sri Lanka, you will most likely be working in a large hospital, an hour outside of Colombo. You will shadow one of our supervising doctors who are all very experienced at working with medical and healthcare students, as they always have a large number of native students in training there. They will be eager to test out your knowledge, as well as give you the benefit of their training and experience.

Outside of the hospital you will live with a local host family, who will provide you with all your meals outside of your normal working hours. When you aren't at work there is plenty to do in the local area, including visits some of the most beautiful beaches in Asia, and there is always a substantial Projects Abroad community of volunteers and interns available to spend time with.

10/ 10

Submitted by
APOORVA SUDINI -
United StatesGreat Valley High School| November 14, 2016

As a rising high school senior in America, I was surrounded by college: college applications, college meetings, college visits. The want to separate myself from all other applicants led me to seek out Projects Abroad, which allowed me to pursue a medical internship in Sri Lanka. This was definitely some thing so drastically different and I was extremely excited to experience it. Diving headfirst into a new culture is always intimidating at first, but thankfully everyone from the staff to the host family to the other volunteers made the whole situation wonderful. From the first day I signed up for Projects Abroad, I was constantly in easy contact with someone. My advisor granted me access to a webpage filled with every nitty gritty detail that assuaged my parents' worries and pointed me towards what I needed to know. Safety and security was something heavily emphasized and this remained true as I was always with someone when I needed to go out into the streets or into the hospitals. However, Projects Abroad also stressed the idea of proactivity, as I was pushed out of my comfort zone to constantly converse with the doctors and try to get the most out of my experience. There was definitely a good blend of experience and enjoyment as well, for as a group we went on a cultural excursion to a popular tourist place in Kandy, but also took part in orphanage outreaches and medical camps. The host family was absolutely sweet and fantastic, providing enriching meals and tastes of Sri Lanka. Overall, the experience was something so marvellously unique that it was perfect for college and perfect for inspiring me on my journey to success!

Projects Abroad responded to this review December 19, 2016 at 11:07 AM

Dear ApoorvaWe are glad to hear you had such a wonderful time in Sri Lanka! The safety of our volunteers abroad is indeed our number one priority and we work hard for you to know all the information about this important issue even before making your decision to join. It's great that you decided to stand out from other college applicants and get out of your comfort zone! I am sure this experience will be very helpful in your college applications and studies. Thanks for sharing!

Overall Rating

10/ 10

Volunteer Placement

10

Program Administration

10

Living Situation

10

Community Engagement

9

Health & Safety

10

Day to Day Life

10

Volunteering abroad in Sri Lanka

Submitted by
Claire -
Laredo United StatesUniversity of Colorado| June 29, 2016

When I started my sophomore year of college, I decided I wanted to do something over the winter break that would be a step out of my comfort zone. I decided to volunteer abroad for two weeks in Sri Lanka through Projects Abroad’s medicine program. I had a wonderful experience and learned so much about healthcare and Sri Lankan culture. The Projects Abroad staff, my host family, and the doctors at the hospital were all extremely kind and welcoming. I lived with eight other volunteers my age, and we would travel to our medicine placements at the hospital together everyday. It was nice to have another volunteer with me when shadowing doctors. I got to try a lot of new and delicious foods, and learn about a completely new culture.
One of my favorite parts of the trip was helping at the health clinic in a suburb of Panadura. We were able to offer free blood pressure testing, blood sugar testing, consultations with a physician, and medications. I learned how to test blood pressure and blood sugar a few days earlier, and I was able to use my skills to help those in need. Although I was very nervous to poke someone’s finger in order to test their blood sugar, I knew I was offering a service that these people may not have access to very often. I would highly recommend this trip, and I would love to volunteer with Projects Abroad in the future.

Overall Rating

10/ 10

Volunteer Placement

9

Program Administration

9

Living Situation

9

Community Engagement

9

Health & Safety

10

Day to Day Life

10

High School Medical special in Sri Lanka

Submitted by
Elisa Moore -
North Carolina | July 28, 2015

I just completed the 4-week high school medicine special in Panadura, Sri Lanka. I got the chance to work at three different hospitals, attend multiple medical seminars, and get immersed in Sri Lankan culture. It was an amazing adventure that I would love to share about.
Before I left, the support that I got from Projects Abroad was very impressive. My parents and I had countless questions and they were always answered very quickly and very thoroughly. Part of my story volunteering with Projects Abroad was that I was actually supposed to go to Nepal until the 2015 earthquake happened there. The support I recieved in trying to make a decision between staying in Nepal or switching to Sri Lanka was very helpful and allowed me and my parents to make the decision to switch projects.
I went to my host family right after arriving in Colombo. My host family provided three meals a day, and were accomodating to whatever times we had to wake up or when we had to be out late for something. The language barrier was sometimes challenging but one of our supervisors was an amazing translation help! They were extremely generous and gave me a very good glimpse into what Sri Lankan life truly is.
Working at the three different hospitals allowed me to see a very wide range of the Sri Lankan medical scenario and allowed me to compare/contrast it to my own country. It made me even more interested in medicine than I already was. I also loved being able to work with people from all around the world and get to learn about their cultures. We became lifelong friends and we got a very deep experience together.
I would very highly recommend any project with Projects Abroad. My parents were very interested in how high school students would be handled in a foreign country, and I can honestly say that I felt safe at all times. We were supervised at all times when we weren't at home, and we were never allowed to go anywhere by ourselves. I was nervous to be so far away from home for so long, but the support that I received from the Projects Abroad staff was so helpful that it made it very easy for me to get used to life there and thrive throughout the project. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything!!